March 26, 2012
Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11
Last Chance to Attend 2012 NAB Show at No Charge
March 30th is the deadline for DCINFO readers to take advantage of a special opportunity to attend the 2012 NAB Show at no cost: 1) Go to www.nabshow.com. 2) Click on "Register now." 3) Enter PASS CODE: 2012.
The NAB Show has evolved over the last eight decades to continually lead its ever-changing industry. While solutions have changed to keep pace with consumer habits and technologies, aspirations to produce and deliver memorable content have remained constant.
These passes provide access to all Exhibits, NAB Show Opening, General Sessions, Info Sessions, and Content Theater. Conference registrations are additional.
The DCIA is presenting the inaugural CLOUD COMPUTING CONFERENCE, a full-day education track event, at the 2012 NAB Show on Monday April 16th in N232 of the North Hall at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
In addition, the DCIA will exhibit in N3222M at the CLOUD COMPUTING PAVILION, a first-ever special section of the NAB Exhibit Floor totally dedicated to cloud computing.
From creation to consumption, the NAB Show proudly serves as the incubator for excellence - helping to breathe life into content everywhere.
The NAB Show will be attended by 90,000+ media and entertainment professionals from over 150 countries. More than $18.8 billion in purchasing power will be represented onsite. 1,500+ companies spread over 745,000 net square feet will exhibit. There will be more than 500 skill-building sessions; and 1,300+ members of the press will cover the event.
For more information or to register, please click here.
Two FREE On-Demand Webinars of Interest
As we countdown to the 2012 NAB Show, please click here for an insightful look at "Legal Concerns & Practical Solutions for Media and Entertainment in the Cloud," a FREE webinar produced by DataDirect Networks in association with the DCIA and Dow Lohnes Attorneys At Law.
This groundbreaking session covers the latest contractual, copyright, and fourth amendment consequences of using cloud-based services. It also presents brand new private cloud solutions that will help expedite the adoption of cloud storage and collaboration by media and entertainment companies.
In addition, a separate FREE webinar from US Telecom, also available on demand, explains Internet peering and how the largest Internet service providers (ISPs), content delivery networks (CDNs), and content providers scale their connectivity to the Internet.
Using research from his recently published book, William Norton provides insight into whether peering at the core of the Internet makes sense for your network.
Attendees receive a discount for the book.
These two webinars offer the perfect pre-CLOUD COMPUTING CONFERENCE at NAB prep.
Report from CEO Marty Lafferty
 Last summer, broadband network operators agreed to a Copyright Alert System (CAS) advanced by content providers in an attempt to reduce copyright infringement by Internet users, which many industry observers speculated would run afoul of US anti-trust laws.
Under CAS, three months from now, Internet service providers (ISPs) will be expected to start delivering educational alerts, redirecting web browsers, and temporarily blocking the Internet service of users accused by content rights holders of online infringement.
Now the question of whether CAS represents an unlawful exercise of aggregated private sector power is being raised with increased urgency.
If CAS proceeds, leading ISPs, starting in July, will implement a graduated-response scheme targeting alleged online copyright infringement of popular entertainment through a sequence of so-called Copyright Alerts.
As we said when CAS was announced, the DCIA believes that, while well intended and potentially useful within the context of a larger commercial framework, endeavors of this type exemplify two classic errors in strategy: "putting the cart before the horse" and emphasizing "the stick" in the absence of a truly viable "carrot."
It would be much more effective to pursue advanced technological solutions - led by state-of-the-art filtering systems - and, above all - new business models - than to launch a new enforcement regime such as this in their absence.
There have been very promising developments of relevance here over the past several years both technologically and commercially, and the DCIA would be glad to bring Internet-based software developers to the table with content rights holders and ISPs to engage in a meaningful collaborative process.
A new warning-and-penalty mechanism, as thoughtful as this one may be, but which is not part of a system of robust new business solutions that will be widely adopted by consumers, is doomed to fail.
Primarily, what was missing from the mix in developing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) upon which CAS is based, was the participation of Internet-based software developers.
The DCIA, from our inception, has understood that three sectors need to collaborate in order for there to be substantive progress on these major issues: broadband network operators, content rights holders, and software developers. Two-out-of-three categories just aren't enough.
In any case, the new scheme of graduated "Copyright Alerts" intends to offer consumers advance warning and educational opportunities before extreme penalties are implemented. It will replace the current practice of Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) violation notices being sent to ISPs, which then forward them to account holders.
Data used to target accused infringing file sharers has been shown not to be consistently reliable, especially with respect to intra-ISP traffic; and, particularly in the absence of reasonable due process, in addition to anti-trust concerns, the legality of the whole regime likely will be subject to class-action challenges.
In addition, sophisticated sharers increasingly use anonymizers, virtual private networks (VPNs), HTTP streaming, and one-click download services; and most file-sharing programs already provide randomized encryption by default and will therefore be undetected.
Although the system won't have much of an effect on curtailing infringement, unfortunately it will have multiple negative consequences for broadband network operators and consumers.
Here's how it will work. The entertainment companies will continue to hire entities to monitor web traffic, and if they notice what appears to be infringing content being downloaded, the related Internet protocol (IP) address will be identified and matched to its ISP, which will be sent an e-mail.
The MOU to which the ISPs have agreed commits them to alert subscribers. It does not, however, commit them to turning over actual subscriber information without a court order. Following is a summary of the "Copyright Alerts" that broadband subscribers can expect to receive:
- First Alert: In response to a notice from a copyright owner, an ISP will send an online alert, such as an e-mail, notifying the subscriber that his/her account may have been misused for copyright infringement, which is unlawful and in violation of subscription policies. It will direct the subscriber to educational material that will (a) help him/her check the security of his/her computer and WiFi network, (b) provide explanatory steps for avoiding copyright infringement, and (c) list alternative sources for licensed music, film, and TV content.
- Second Alert: If the alleged activity persists, the subscriber may get a second similar alert that will underscore the educational messages, or the ISP may in its discretion skip this second alert and proceed to the third.
- Third Alert: If the subscriber's account again appears to copyright owners to have been abused for infringement, he/she will receive another alert, much like the initial alerts. However, this alert will provide a conspicuous mechanism (a click-through pop-up notice, landing page, or similar item) asking the subscriber to acknowledge receipt. This is designed to ensure that the subscriber is aware of the third copyright alert, and will remind the subscriber that copyright infringement conducted through his/her account could lead to consequences under the law and published policies.
- Fourth Alert: If the subscriber's account again appears to copyright owners to have been misused for copyright infringement, the subscriber will receive another alert that will again require the subscriber to acknowledge receipt.
- Fifth Alert: If the subscriber's account again appears to copyright owners to have been abused for copyright infringement, the ISP will send another alert. At this time, the ISP may take one of several steps, specified in its published policies, reasonably calculated to stop future copyright infringement. These steps, referred to as "Mitigation Measures," may include temporary reductions of Internet speeds, redirection to a landing page until the subscriber contacts the ISP to discuss the matter or reviews and responds to educational information about copyright, or other measures that the ISP may deem necessary to help resolve the matter. ISPs are not obligated to impose any Mitigation Measure which would disable or be reasonably likely to disable the subscriber's voice telephone service (including the ability to call 911), e-mail account, or any security or health service (such as home security or medical monitoring). The use of the Mitigation measure is waivable by the ISP at this point.
- Sixth Alert: Whether or not the ISP has previously waived using a Mitigation Measure, if the subscriber's account again appears to copyright owners to have been misused for copyright infringement, the ISP will send another alert and will implement a Mitigation Measure as described above.
Account holders may request an independent review at any time upon payment of a $35 processing fee (that can be waived) to challenge the validity of the accusation that's been made against them by entertainment content rights holders. They will also be able to demand evidence that the account in question is actually theirs and has not been identified as such in error.
Regrettably, the Obama administration has backed this scheme, publishing a message of support on its official White House Blog. "To win the future and succeed in the global economy, it is critical to protect the intellectual property (IP) of America's innovators and creators," wrote Victoria Espinel, US IP Enforcement Coordinator.
While we want to agree with Randal Milch, EVP and General Counsel of Verizon, that in terms of an enforcement regime per se, "this is a sensible approach and, importantly, one that respects the privacy and rights of subscribers" and "will set a reasonable standard for both copyright owners and ISPs to follow," we also agree with the Electronic Frontier Foundation's (EFF) Corynne McSherry, who said, "It would be more valuable for the White House, ISPs, and Hollywood if they found better ways to getting artists paid instead of focusing on punishment."
An excellent way to do that will be to involve Internet-based software developers in the process.
This week, in addition to gloating about their success in bullying ISPs into implementing CAS, which as outlined above will likely fail, music industry spokespeople signaled their next target for extortive action: Google.
That's not what we mean by involving the software sector in solving the infringement problem. Share wisely, and take care.
Demand Progress Steps in Again
Excerpted from Demand Progress Report
Just weeks after Internet users from across the globe came together to to beat SOPA, the major ISPs are preparing to do the bidding of Big Content by restricting web access for users who are merely accused of piracy.
It'll do much of the dirty work we were able to prevent when we took down SOPA, this time by restricting certain Americans' access to the WHOLE Internet.
The details are fuzzy, but the head of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) bragged this week that, "ISPs will start policing copyright by July of this year."
Will you click here to sign our open letter to the ISPs? Demand that they respect their customers and back down now.
Here's RT's take on the proposal: "Some of the biggest ISPs in America plan to adopt policies that will punish customers for alleged copyright infringement, and one of the top trade groups in the music biz announced this week that it could begin as soon as this summer.
At this rate, some of the most powerful Internet providers in America should have their new policies on the books by July 12, 2012."
The ISPs are poised to start treating their customers like criminals, restricting their access to the Internet.
And they're cutting us off at the knees just as we've begun to force a new conversation about Internet freedom and copyright law.
Please sign on to our open letter demanding they back down - just click here.
Thanks!
Demand Progress
PS: Will you forward this message or share it using the links below?
If you're on Facebook, click here to share with your friends.
If you're on Twitter, click here to tweet about the campaign.
Cloud Computing Hiring Demand Surges
Excerpted from Cloud Computing Blog by Jeff James
Demand for IT professionals with cloud computing skills and experience seems to be surging, with several recent reports highlighting increasing employment opportunities for cloud-savvy job seekers.
A recent study by Wanted Analytics states that more than 5,000 cloud computing-related job advertisements were posted in the US in February 2012, an increase of 92% over February 2011 and a 400% increase over February 2010.
Here's more detail from Wanted Analytics, including areas where the demand for cloud skills was highest:
Cloud computing skills are most frequently advertised for jobs located in the San Jose metropolitan area. During February, more than 900 job ads in San Jose included requirements for cloud computing, growing 144% over the past year. Other metro areas with high demand for cloud skills were Seattle, Washington (DC), San Francisco, and New York. While employers in San Jose placed the highest number of job ads for this talent pool, the highest year-over-year growth was seen nearby in San Francisco at more than 150%.
Performing a keyword trends search for "Cloud Computing" on SimplyHired results in an illustrative graph from SimplyHired Job Trends.
Performing the same keyword search on Indeed results in a similar growth curve from Indeed Job Trends.
It's important to note that this surge in job postings isn't entirely focused on IT careers, as demand for cloud skills has expanded into sales, marketing, customer support, and other disciplines and job functions as well.
We've blogged a bit about cloud computing and IT cloud career trends in the past, and I think the same argument still applies.
Cloud computing is a transformative technology that will benefit IT pros who can serve as internal cloud strategists that can help their organizations move IT services to the cloud when it makes business and financial sense.
Every business and organization has different IT needs and requirements, however, so the cloud will never be a panacea for all IT challenges, and on-premise and private cloud solutions may be a better solution for many.
One way to bulk up your resume with some additional cloud mojo is to enroll in and pass some of the cloud security training programs offered by the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA). You can obtain a Certificate of Cloud Security Knowledge, or enroll in dozens of other training classes offered by the CSA.
So are you considering any cloud computing training or career development? Feel free to contribute to the discussion on Twitter.
Netkups: BitTorrent and Cyberlockers Merged Together
Excerpted from P2P ON! Report by Yonah
BitTorrent portals and cyberlockers share few similarities - a big number of users and the prying eye of the entertainment industry, but that's pretty much it.
This is going to change because Netkups incorporates the two technologies, allowing people to upload files, and share them through direct links and torrents.
"The hybrid model is a win-win situation," Netkups founder Adrian said.
"In our case, we can save on bandwidth charges and enable a faster growth, while we guarantee that the file is seeded by us as long as it is downloadable. At the same time, users can enjoy the benefits of torrent files and download as many files as they want, using part of our bandwidth and bandwidth from other users."
Netkups does not come with a built-in search engine, but allows anyone to upload files of up to 1 gigabyte (free of charge), then share them with friends or keep them private. Sharing is possible at a speed of maximum 300 KBs. The client also creates a torrent file that can be shared and downloaded with no speed limits, all for free.
As for copyright infringement, Netkups' policy is strict:
"We'd be fools not to worry about that. That's why we have a serious DMCA policy, as well as a serious legal agreement. That said, we watch out for censorship and abuses of any kind."
"People might not like seeing some things published, but that doesn't mean all files should be removed. We care about everyone's rights - not just users, not just creators," Netkups' founder added, clarifying the company's stance on copyright infringement.
While the premium package offers several benefits - 2 GB upload size, simultaneous downloads, no ads, you can use Netkups for free as well.
How to Explain the Value of the Cloud to Your Organization
Excerpted from Production Minds Report by David Becker
In theory, people know the value of working across silos - engaging with others in different disciplines, devices, and even countries - to build innovative business and projects faster. But often e-mail is the main tool binding everyone together. With many people receiving 150 e-mail messages a day and some receiving as many as 50 an hour, e-mail (or the typical suite of Microsoft Office products) is no longer the best way to communicate, let alone collaborate.
Fortunately cloud-based collaboration platforms, like Production Minds, are springing up. To bring different departments onboard with any cloud-based initiative, you will need to present the value of the cloud in a language each group can appreciate.
Talking Cloud to Your VP of Finance: "Cloud-computing will lower our costs." We will spend less on hardware, networking and overall IT costs. No more buying machines that are outdated three years later. As long as we have access through a web browser or smart-phone we can access the cloud.
Talking Cloud to Your Head of Operations: "All our information can be in one place" and accessible in real time, especially on cloud collaboration platforms like Production Minds for TV and film production or Yammer for more general business applications. Employees, partners, freelancers and clients - all can access and update information whether they're in the office or in the desert.
Even better, we don't need to get our IT department involved to start running a project in the cloud. From a safety perspective, all production data is stored in secure data centers. Losing a laptop or having a flood in the server room becomes a non-event.
Talking Cloud to Your IT Director: Rather than dealing with servicing machines, you'll be able to focus on larger, more fulfilling projects. Since users are added effortlessly, we can scale our business at a predictable cost.
Equally importantly, cloud-based software improves with wider use and insights. Developers working for cloud-computing companies revise the platform in two-week sprints rather than two-year marathons.
Talking Cloud to Your CEO: Pick and choose from the above depending on your CEO's focus. But if you work for a smaller firm, explain to your CEO that cloud-computing power lets you compete effortlessly with much larger, more technically advanced companies. And that has huge bottom-line impact.
So whether you focus on the bottom line, scalability, or easier collaboration, you should find a ready audience within every discipline and profession.
Author's Note: David Becker works for Production Minds, a cloud-based management and social collaboration platform for film, television, broadcast commercial and video projects. Production Minds will be exhibiting in April at the 2012 NAB Show in Las Vegas, Booth N3222O.
Equilibrium Announces EQ Network Public Beta and iOS App Availability
Equilibrium this week announced the release of the EQ Network public beta for the web and general availability of the FREE EQ Network App in the Apple App Store.
EQ Network enables anyone to create and publish high-quality public and private channels across mobile phones, tablets, computers, and connected TVs from just about any video source, file-type, or camera.
The EQ Network App offers an extremely simple, highly intuitive user interface, with location-based video channel subscription capability.
"I have always known that viewers want to get their entertainment when and where it's most convenient. With today's video devices it's possible to watch videos almost anywhere," said Stacey Foster, Coordinating Producer of "Saturday Night Live."
"The EQ Network video service not only makes it possible, it makes it easy to create, receive, and share entertainment video channels and other content in an elegant all-in-one experience for both producers of content and their viewers."
Today's fragmented market of consumer electronic devices and formats means that most media companies and consumers have to resort to very tedious and expensive, manually intensive processes to ingest, distribute, and share their video assets, making festival video Vlogs difficult to create and enjoy in real time.
EQ Network's contribute and subscribe capability, combined with powerful scalable automatic preparation technology solves the problems created by multiple devices and video formats with a simple user experience allowing consumers to upload socially sourced videos and instantly share with their community in a reliable predictable fashion.
The global digital video market is expanding exponentially, yet many challenges remain for both content sourcing and consumers. The creation, processing, delivery, sharing and viewing of online video is not yet a seamless experience for the delivery to the large number of platforms including web, mobile, and connected TV.
EQ Network is focused on solving this problem by providing a single place to aggregate all video content and enable publishers who struggle with these issues to easily adopt our dynamic multi-screen playback and preparation technologies through APIs for easy integration. EQ Network also enables users to share their videos to anywhere, including sms, e-mail, Facebook and Twitter, among other social services.
"High quality video sharing is really expensive to scale and can be highly frustrating for festival attendees who want access to a publicly available video community," said Sean Barger, Equilibrium's CEO.
"EQ has created a revolutionary, centralized approach for publishing, sharing and subscribing to a Vlog or video channel upon arriving at a specific location. This eliminates the high cost of mobilizing and sharing video content, providing a compelling social video community for everyone. Additionally, we've taken the complexity out of the process to publish and archive videos, so users can just shoot and share superior quality video well beyond the standard social video limits into the ability to publish long form content automatically as well."
2012 Creative Storage Conference Coming to Culver City, CA
The 2012 Creative Storage Conference (CS 2012), in association with key industry sponsors, is finalizing a series of technology, application, and trend sessions that will feature distinguished experts from the professional media and entertainment industries.
The Conference will be held June 26th in Culver City, CA to address the changes taking place in entertainment storage and distribution.
The speakers from leading studios and technology firms will cover the complete spectrum of digital storage for content capture, post production, content delivery, and archiving.
Tom Coughlin, Program Coordinator/Chair, notes that he will also have a number of key content industry experts in video production and post-production in sessions throughout the day.
"This will be one of the most popular conferences we put on throughout the year," he noted, "because we have an outstanding roster of creative people as well as post-production and storage experts who will be addressing the capacity, performance issues, and solutions of media organizations and independent teams."
To read more, please click here.
SeaChange to Spin-Off Broadcast Servers and Storage Business
Excerpted from Multichannel News Report by Todd Spangler
In a move to strengthen its focus on software, SeaChange International will sell its declining broadcast servers and storage business - to be named XOR Media - to a group of private investors.
Terms of the deal are not being disclosed. A spokesman said SeaChange will provide "more color" on the transaction when it reports fiscal fourth quarter 2011 and results for the fiscal year ended January 31st on Thursday, March 29th.
SeaChange is retaining its video-on-demand (VoD) software and related hardware business.
The sale to the investment group, led by venture-capital firm VantagePoint Capital Partners, is expected to close after customary regulatory approvals.
SeaChange's Servers and Storage group has been shrinking in the last several years. For the nine months ended October 31st, the unit generated revenue of $23.2 million, down 19.8% from the year-earlier period, with an operating profit of $800,000 versus a $7.4 million operating loss a year prior.
SeaChange said the spin-off will let it focus on its core software and services operations including its next-generation back office, VoD streamers, gateway software and advertising solutions.
"This divestiture is an important part of our strategy to transform SeaChange into a pure-play software company, significantly reduce our overall cost structure, and strengthen our ability to compete in delivering next-generation multi-screen video solutions, while generating cash," SeaChange interim CEO Raghu Rau said.
Rau added that SeaChange will continue to work with XOR Media. "It's important to note that this sale is not a parting of ways between SeaChange and the new company, XOR Media. We will continue to work together to offer our customers a complete solution. We see this divestiture as a step toward a future relationship - not the ending of one."
Rau, a member of SeaChange's board and a strategic advisor specializing in marketing, business strategy and venture capital for high-technology companies, took over CEO duties in November 2011 after SeaChange Founder, Chairman, and CEO Bill Styslinger left the company.
With the divestiture of the Servers and Storage business, SeaChange will have the flexibility to offer customers hardware from any company. SeaChange said it will continue to provide customer service and support to all of its VoD streaming service provider customers and also will provide customer service and support to any customers who purchase storage products as part of its reseller agreement with XOR Media.
Zheng Gao, President of SeaChange's Storage and Servers unit, will become CEO of XOR Media.
"XOR Media is a new business entity in name, but the same team and processes will be there for our loyal client base - only now, we have the focus and resources to bring to market storage platforms representing the next-generation network attached storage/storage area network (NAS-SAN) convergence," Gao said.
VantagePoint partner Terry Chen said, "The proliferation of digital media presents a huge upside potential for XOR Media. We are excited about the synergy the new company brings with our other holdings including the Blue Whale File System utilized by XOR Media's high performance Universal MediaLibrary storage. We see this as a key investment with the tremendous potential of XOR Media's products, technologies, and people resources, operating independently and in partnership with SeaChange."
1GB P2P File Transfer Coming to Facebook through Pipe
Excerpted from Digital Trends Report by Jeff Hughes
Large file transfer may soon be coming to a Facebook page near you. Everything to everyone - Facebook covers gaming, news, chat, and now an expanded file transfer beyond the size allowed by message attachments. The new feature is credited to a new app called Pipe, unveiled at the London Web Summit.
Pipe will be going into beta Monday, and will allow chunks of data, up to 1GB in size, to be transferred peer-to-peer (P2P) on the social network. Berlin-based Pipe uses Adobe's Real Time Media Protocol Flow to slip the file into the recipient's cache - no Facebook or Pipe server space gets occupied. The Adobe tech was designed for Flash or AIR apps to communicate with each other.
"We're starting on Facebook because it gives us viral reach," Pipe CEO Simon Hossell told GigaOM. "When the user wants to send a file to a friend, the friend gets a Facebook chat message with a link to the app and an explainer video; they install the app to get the file, and so it spreads."
Facebook is the first stop for the app, but an iOS version as well as an idea for an Android version are ready to spring after Pipe takes off.
The app launch comes at the heels of the recent Facebook acquisition of Caffeinated Mind. The acqui-hire shows that the social network is laying some pipe of its own for an official file transfer set-up. The three person team of Caffeinated mind is behind Sendroid, which helps transfer files for users in-browser, as well as Expresso, which focuses on data transfer on the enterprise level.
CMI said in a blog post last month that they intended to "change the way files moved online," and they may get that chance once Facebook starts allowing it's almost 1 billion users to transfer music selections and other big pieces of data from friend-to-friend.
Israeli Firm Offers Cloud-Based HPC through 30X Acceleration
Excerpted from Cloud Pro Report by Adrian Bridgwater
From somewhere deep inside Tel-Aviv's burgeoning technology zone emerges news this week of Xoreax, a company with a complex software acceleration technology product called IncrediBuild-XGE.
IncrediBuild-XGE is described as a distributed computing product that accelerates "time-intensive computational processes" in both cloud environments and local networks. Essentially, this is software designed to manage a network of PCs and servers and turn them into a private computing cloud for high performance computing (HPC) requirements.
So is Xoreax trying to replace the cloud by creating what it calls a virtual supercomputer set-up? Yes and no.
In some senses it's a yes. I.e., the company's XGE technology transforms a network of regular office PCs and servers into a cloud in which every node - from user workstations to dedicated servers - contributes unutilized processing power to form an accessible HPC environment that could run with speeds 30x faster than a standalone workstation.
But it's also really a no: this product works positively with the cloud. I.e., IncrediBuild-XGE allows applications to take advantage of unutilized CPU and GPU resources on the network and can also scale out to public clouds, if a service has been purchased by the customer.
"IncrediBuild-XGE's distributed computing architecture accelerates computational processes running on MS Windows, allowing them to become grid-enabled with near-zero implementation costs and without changes to source code or architecture," explained Eyal Maor, CEO of Xoreax.
Although newly available as a standalone product, its makers claim that IncrediBuild-XGE is already a proven technology. The underlying platform that powers this system is reportedly used by more than 100,000 users in more than 2,000 organizations, including Google, Microsoft, eBay, Electronic Arts, CitiGroup and Nvidia.
So is this hybrid cloud computing management with software acceleration management overtones? Is this some sort of plug-and-play HPC product that can be brought to bear over an existing application stack without the major software re-architecting that HPC might usually demand? The answer is, yes, most of the above.
What is for sure is that Tel-Aviv's Silicon Holy Land made a lot of noise during the dot com boom and bust era. Then things went kind of quiet for a decade or so, comparatively speaking at least. Is now the renaissance of the Israeli technology sector? Time will tell.
Mobile, Social, and Big Data Drive Cloud Computing Boom
Excerpted from ZDNet Report by Joe McKendrick
A new study commissioned by SAP and conducted by Sand Hill Group speculates that cloud computing - fueled by mobile computing, social networking and big data - may generate as many or more opportunities in the coming years than the Internet itself did in its early years.
The study's authors said cloud computing is already generating a sizable number of jobs in the US today, and based on numerous trends and indicators, has the future potential to create very large business opportunities and hundreds of thousands of new jobs.
Of course, as anyone who was around during the dot-com craze of the 1990s knows, we've been down this road before with over-the-top industry projections. There's no question that cloud is the hype of the day. Still, the cloud represents a shift in business technology resources that presents both risk and great opportunity for vendors and end-users alike.
Consider potential job growth, both within IT and the business. For example, the SAP study relates, 11 cloud computing companies added 80,000 jobs in the United States in 2010, and the employment growth rate at these organizations was almost five times than that of the high-tech sector overall.
The report cites a previous study out of Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global, which calculated the total number of employees at 11 cloud companies (Amazon, Google, Netflix, OpenTable, Salesforce, Taleo, SuccessFactors, RightNow, Intuit, NetSuite, and Concur) in January 2010 and January 2011.
The total number of employees grew 27% during that one-year period, which was an additional 80,000 new jobs. The employee growth at these 11 cloud companies was almost five times the employee growth rate for the high-tech services sector overall, which grew 5.9%, to add about 17,500 jobs during a similar period.
For example, the leading cloud company during this period, OpenTable, grew by more than 44%. VMWare grew by 41%, and Amazon by 31%. Companies selling cloud services are projected to grow revenues by an average of $20 billion per year for the next five years, which has the potential to generate as many as 472,000 jobs in the US and abroad in the next five years. In addition, venture capital investments in cloud opportunities are projected to reach $30 billion in the next five years, which could add another 213,000 new jobs in the US alone.
Even more bullish numbers come from new research conducted by IDC and sponsored by Microsoft Corp., which also looked at the economic benefits of cloud computing in the years ahead. Cloud computing will potentially generate at least 14 million new jobs across the globe within the next three years. Moreover, these new jobs may likely be in many areas outside of IT.
The Microsoft-IDC study also says that many of these jobs will come from outside of IT, encompassing areas such as marketing, sales, finance and administration, production, and service. And this does not even consider all the new types of jobs that may be created as a result of cloud, perhaps with titles such as "virtual resources administrator" or "customer network facilitator."
IDC's research also predicts revenues from cloud innovation could reach $1.1 trillion per year within the next 36 months. The analyst firm estimates that last year alone, IT cloud services helped organizations of all sizes and all vertical sectors around the world generate more than $400 billion in revenue and 1.5 million new jobs. In the next four years, the number of new jobs will surpass 8.8 million.
SAP-Sand Hill's report also examined the economic impact on consumers - companies buying cloud services. Cloud computing could save US businesses as much as $625 billion over five years, the study's authors predict.
Three industry megatrends are propelling the growth of cloud services and employment, the report states:
1) The boom in mobile computing devices such as smart-phones and tablets: "Mobile apps will drive massive demand for cloud services on the back end, such as app stores, databases, and storage. The recent success of tablet devices will further expand the demand for cloud services as these mobile devices give users greater access to information."
2) Social networking: "Such massive scalability and elasticity would not be possible without cloud computing technologies to drive these sites."
3) Big Data: "Cloud infrastructure and platforms will play a huge role in accessing, processing, and analyzing such massive amounts of data. This is where cloud-based systems shine."
Government policies and purchasing decisions at all levels will also have a major influence on cloud adoption and job growth, the SAP-Sand Hill report adds. Federal government agencies, in particular, are being urged to partake in the federal government's shared services initiative, announced in December 2011.
Federal agencies are being asked to develop a shared services plan and to identify at least two commodity IT areas for migration to an "intra-agency shared service model" by the end of 2012. The goal is a "federal government that is leaner, more agile and more efficient. Leveraging commodity IT services at the department level within agencies presents quick win opportunities, and is typically less complex to implement and easier to manage than efforts between agencies."
Cloud Computing Is Entering its Teen Years
Excerpted from GigaOM Report by Andi Mann
The cloud has entered the "awkward teenage" phase, as James Staten at Forrester Research recently noted. Luckily, it's not overrun with rowdy adolescents the way other technology paradigms have been (think early social media). It's been maturing, and so have best practices for its use and adoption, along with the related security and application aspects.
In fact, it could be argued that IT management and security have kept a tight rein on all cloud activities. Many of us did what we could to help it grow while making sure we could prevent serious damage in the process. First as a research analyst, and now as the vice president of strategic solutions at the software vendor CA Technologies, I have written multiple research reports and white papers on responsible ways to use a cloud (and when not to).
Cloud computing is growing up, and it's time for us in IT management to loosen our grip. It won't be an easy transition, and each environment requires its own solution. Here are some top-line suggestions to consider.
Allow for discovery: Many organizations are still reluctant to take full advantage of the potential of cloud computing and deploy pilot projects. And every time there are "rogue" activities, it sets off alarm bells. Let's be realistic - no system is foolproof or completely immune to problems. There's no question that a complete shutdown is sometimes justified, but it's also vital to have adequate remedial measures in place ahead of time. Cloud installations need to offer strategic visibility, thorough transparency and predictive intelligence. That's the best way to implement truly transformative cloud initiatives that offer the greatest benefits.
Provide modeling and simulation capabilities: Caution is still justified - it's hard to make a full-on investment when there's a lot at stake and the shift to the cloud is still relatively young. Rather than throw the cloud into real-world applications immediately, it's best to set up test runs. Fortunately, companies considering a move to the cloud can simulate a service and determine performance, capacity requirements and cost structure before making the commitment. Similarly, parallel development processes make it possible to test those services before they're completed.
Help develop credible capabilities: Implementing applications that are perfectly appropriate in other environments, but aren't a good fit for the cloud, is a ticket to losing internal support. To avoid such mishaps, it's best to consider turnkey cloud computing platforms that enable corporations to create a truly analytical model of the services they need, and then transform the application into an on-demand business service. IT management needs to offer insights into current and future capital and operational costs by using predictive analytics, managing service levels and costs, and providing visibility regarding who is using each service, how often they are using them, and how those services are performing.
Provide "grown-up" financial management: Wishful thinking aside, it isn't always easy to map financial benefits to IT investments. In the evolving world of cloud computing, this can be a major obstacle. That said, there are lifecycle and asset management capabilities available from companies such as CA Technologies (where I work), Nimsoft and other IT management vendors. These account for the physical, financial and contractual aspects of hardware and software assets on-site, virtually and in the cloud. With a software asset manager, companies can get an integrated view of the infrastructure base, and analytic tools can help identify real asset costs and avoid unnecessary capital expenditures and lease penalties.
Provide automation and assurance: Skip the guessing game. Current solutions from CA Technologies, Nimsoft, HP and VMware for cloud service assurance automatically link applications and transactions with the underlying infrastructure. Whether they reside on- or off-site, these solutions deliver real-time visibility into the performance of critical cloud services. Even in the most dynamic and heterogeneous environments, available technologies help corporations keep pace with rapid change and confidently adapt new computing models. This is the best way to ensure the key business services run smoothly and to optimize the business user's support experience.
I'm not suggesting that any of this is a magic bullet. And again, as with any major technology shift - mainframe, distributed, desktop - there will be singular problems and unique solutions. The indisputable reality is that cloud computing is growing up, running mission-critical workloads and delivering on its potential. It's the responsibility of those of us with a history in different (and evolving) IT disciplines to provide the right mix of guidance, management, freedom, and supervision.
Coming Events of Interest
2012 NAB Show - April 14th-19th in Las Vegas, NV. From Broadcasting to Broader-casting, the NAB Show has evolved over the last eight decades to continually lead this ever-changing industry. From creation to consumption, the NAB Show has proudly served as the incubator for excellence - helping to breathe life into content everywhere.
CLOUD COMPUTING CONFERENCE at NAB - April 16th in Las Vegas, NV. Don't miss this full-day conference focusing on the impact of cloud computing solutions on all aspects of production, storage, and delivery of television programming and video.
Cloud Computing World Forum - May 8th in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Cloud Computing World Forum Africa is the only place to discuss the latest topics in cloud, including security, mobile, applications, communications, virtualization, CRM and much, much more.
Cloud Expo - June 11th-14th in New York, NY. Two unstoppable enterprise IT trends, Cloud Computing and Big Data, will converge in New York at the tenth annual Cloud Expo being held at the Javits Convention Center. A vast selection of technical and strategic General Sessions, Industry Keynotes, Power Panels, Breakout Sessions, and a bustling Expo Floor.
IEEE 32nd International Conference on Distributed Computing - June 18th-21st in Taipa, Macao. ICDCS brings together scientists and engineers in industry, academia, and government: Cloud Computing Systems, Algorithms and Theory, Distributed OS and Middleware, Data Management and Data Centers, Network/Web/P2P Protocols and Applications, Fault Tolerance and Dependability, Wireless, Mobile, Sensor, and Ubiquitous Computing, Security and Privacy.
Cloud Management Summit - June 19th in Mountain View, CA. A forum for corporate decision-makers to learn about how to manage today's public, private, and hybrid clouds using the latest cloud solutions and strategies aimed at addressing their application management, access control, performance management, helpdesk, security, storage, and service management requirements on-premise and in the cloud.
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